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If possible, schedule a CB for a firm that you are not that interested in before one that you are interested in. It gives you the opportunity to practice your CB style with lower stakes so you can work the kinks out for your favored CB.

A caveat is to not to do this if it means scheduling your favored CBs late in the process, as some firms make offers on a rolling basis.

Anonymous User wrote:If possible, schedule a CB for a firm that you are not that interested in before one that you are interested in. It gives you the opportunity to practice your CB style with lower stakes so you can work the kinks out for your favored CB.

A caveat is to not to do this if it means scheduling your favored CBs late in the process, as some firms make offers on a rolling basis.

+1. I went 5/6 on call-backs, and only missed my first one (including an offer from several peers and one "higher" ranked firm). Obviously, I may just have been a bad fit, but I'm pretty confident that the interview didn't go that well - especially the first, with a partner - and that probably had a lot to do with it.

Anonymous User wrote:At our school, firms know if you bid on them or not.

at harvard, all firms you bid on get your resume, so they'd know if you bid on them or not. at georgetown i think your top 20 get your resume. i'm sure other schools operate similarly.

I'm convinced none of the firms look at those resumes. But yeah, they could check whether you bid on them or not, so better not lie.

Firms do look at them, which is strange considering that it does not have the GPA. But they definitely do, not even a question. Such firms are particularly willing to talk to you and set up things if you have regional ties. They do not know at what place you bid them. As a safety, even if you do not want to go back to your region, add them at the end of your bid list, so in case you need to mass mail, you tell them I bid you but did not get interview. Recruiters have resumes of all the people that bid them.

Anonymous User wrote:If possible, schedule a CB for a firm that you are not that interested in before one that you are interested in. It gives you the opportunity to practice your CB style with lower stakes so you can work the kinks out for your favored CB.

A caveat is to not to do this if it means scheduling your favored CBs late in the process, as some firms make offers on a rolling basis.

+1. I went 5/6 on call-backs, and only missed my first one (including an offer from several peers and one "higher" ranked firm). Obviously, I may just have been a bad fit, but I'm pretty confident that the interview didn't go that well - especially the first, with a partner - and that probably had a lot to do with it.

+2 I thought I was a pro at interviewing since I've been on the other side so many times, but at my first CB, the hiring partner asked me zero questions and skipped straight to "so, do you have any questions for me?" It completely threw me off my game and I couldn't recover in time. This happened to me again, but I was prepared the next time and cinched the offer. Luckily, I was ambivalent about that first firm.

Just did my first interview on the other side of the table and talked to a partner who also interviewed this person.

1) Practice talking slower if you tend to talk fast, people view it as a sign of nervousness. 2) There's such a thing as too honest, always remember you're selling yourself and you need to make that firm feel like its your number one choice.3) If you tend to have sweaty hands, keep something in your pocket to try to wipe to prevent other people from thinking you're nervous. 4) Going off on tangents is nice, but remember there's a form someone fills out (pretty predictable topics) so try to hit the basics (why x city, why firm, why practice group, hardworking, smart, personable, good to work with etc). Its an interview, not just a conversation, and the person you're with is probably not the person in the room come decision time, just the form.

Anonymous User wrote:Missed bidding on a firm at both PLIP and my school's OCI, how should I approach sending an app to them now? I shunned them twice blah blah I know my mistake, I'm looking to the future now. Should I mention that I failed to bid on them, but am now interested? Or act like all of that never happened? I figure they're going to figure it out either way, and at least in the long shot they're interested I could then make myself known at PLIP or OCI.

Any ideas?

I wouldn't go the "I failed to bid on you" route. Immediately shows lack of interest. Instead, opt for a "I am interested but unfortunately did not get an interview during OCI" route. Write a targeted cover letter expressing said interest and enthusiasm and hope for the best.

You might also say that that you submitted a bid, but the lottery system fucked you, and now you're taking the direct route by sending them your sume (this should work especially if it's true).

Not sure if this has been posted (and too lazy to look), but make sure the specific office/location you're interviewing for actually has the practice you express interest in. I was interested in copyright, TM, and entertainment, and I interviewed for several offices of firms known for those practices where there were only 1 or 2 partners that were actually involved.

On that note, avoid expressing too strong of an interest in any one practice area unless you know the firm is recruiting heavily for that practice.

One thing I convinced myself of was that it would be a fun experience getting to meet new people and learn about their practice. It actually did turn out to be a fun experience and I think my pre-OCI brainwashing helped me do better.

I wish I would have known that every interview room was going to have snacks. I ate a big breakfast the morning of interviews and I had little room for donuts and bagels. I wish I would have eaten light so that I could have taken advantage of all the delicious breakfast foods and sandwiches.

Detrox wrote:The most important info is missing from this thread. Practice your knock 100x a day. You'll be sitting outside the door and boom, it's time to knock. Gotta get it just right, not too loud, not too soft. No more then 4, no less then 2. Always double and triple knock if they don't answer the door immediately, it will show what an eager worker you are. Knock even if the door is open and you're the first to be interviewed, it will intimidate the other people around you and should generate a nice "buzz" across the entire hotel about that mysterious 9:00 am knocker.

Protip: if your OCI isn't in a hotel, transfer. Jobs are only given out in private suites, generally where your chair will be a foot lower to the ground then your interviewer's.

Edit: Protip #2: The 100% job lockdown knock can be completely erased if you have a crappy folder for your prestigious documents. Shell out a few hundred bucks for a nice briefcase for each day of OCI, every $20 dollar spent more then your competitors (classmates) pushes you up .3 Vault rankings. In it, only bring your resume, it has everything they need to know about you. Your grades should obviously be memorized and recited upon the request of a transcript.

I wish I had not listened to my career counselor. She discouraged me from bidding on large firms because my grades were not competitive (I was on the dot right at median). Ppl with comparable grades and even lower than mine got offers from V50 firms because they ignored her advice and bid and interviewed anyway. I struck out because I bid on much lower firms and it was also really competitive.